Vehicle seat having an integrated airbag module
A vehicle seat includes a frame and a pad having a portion. A trim cover at least partially surrounds the frame and the portion of the pad. The trim cover includes a tear seam formed therein and has an underside disposed adjacent the portion of the pad. The seat further includes an airbag module having an inflator, a housing defining an opening, and an airbag deployable from a folded position within the housing to an expanded position extending outwardly through the opening of the housing. The seat further includes a deflector having a first portion mounted on the frame and a second portion extending outwardly from the first portion. During deployment of the airbag, the second portion flexes relative to the first portion to move the portion of the pad away from the underside of the trim cover. The airbag is directed between the deflector and the underside of the trim material.
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This invention relates in general to vehicle seats, and in particular to vehicle seats incorporating airbags mounted therein.
In recent years, vehicles are being equipped with side airbags which are deployable to a position lateral of an occupant of the vehicle. Some of these airbags are mounted within a vehicle seat in their non-deployed state. Commonly, the airbag is housed within an airbag module mounted in the outboard side bolster of the seat back of the vehicle seat. The modules include a housing containing a folded airbag and an inflator. The airbag module is typically surrounded by the foam padding and outer trim cover which covers the entire seat back. Upon detection of an impact condition in which the airbag is to be deployed, a controller energizes the inflator causing an expansion of gas within the airbag. The expansion of gas causes the airbag to rapidly expand and extend outwardly from the housing. Conventional seat backs incorporating these types of airbags often include an aperture or slot formed in the foam pad, and break away seams formed in the trim cover to properly direct the expanding airbag through the bolster.
It is generally desirable to prevent loose fragmentation of the foam pad during airbag deployment when the airbag is forced through the slot of the foam padding. It is known to reduce foam fragmentation by molding in a fabric net into the slot of the foam padding around the airbag module. Although the use of a fabric net helps to reduce foam fragmentation, this addition of a molded fabric net increases the cost of the vehicle seat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to a vehicle seat including a frame and a pad having a portion. A trim cover at least partially surrounds the frame and the portion of the pad. The trim cover includes a tear seam formed therein and has an underside disposed adjacent the portion of the pad. The seat further includes an airbag module having an inflator, a housing defining an opening, and an airbag deployable from a folded position within the housing to an expanded position extending outwardly through the opening of the housing. The seat further includes a deflector having a first portion mounted on the frame and a second portion extending outwardly from the first portion. During deployment of the airbag, the second portion flexes relative to the first portion to move the portion of the pad away from the underside of the trim cover. The airbag is directed between the deflector and the underside of the trim material.
Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in
As best shown in
As shown in
The seat back 12 further includes a trim cover 54 to generally define an exterior surface of the seat 10. The trim cover 54 may be made of any suitable material, such as fabric, vinyl, and/or leather. The trim cover 54 generally surrounds the pad 50 and may be disposed proximate one or more surfaces of the pad 50. The trim cover 54 may be attached to the pad 50 or other portions of the seat 10 by any suitable manner, such as with an adhesive, stitching, or fasteners. The trim cover 54 may be formed from a plurality of sections that are sewn or otherwise fastened together. The trim cover 54 includes an airbag tear seam 58 preferably located generally at the front portion of the outboard bolster 18, as shown in
The trim cover 54 may cover the rear portion of the seat back 16 or alternatively, a back panel 59 may be used. The back panel 59 may be made of any suitable material, such as plastic and can be attached to the seat or trim cover 54 by any suitable manner.
The seat 10 further includes an airbag module 60 which generally includes a housing 62, an inflator 64, and the airbag 22. The airbag module 60 is preferably located within the outboard bolster 18 of the seat back 16. More preferably, the airbag module 60 is located between the side member 34 and an underside 68 of the trim cover 54. The airbag housing 62 and inflator 64 are preferably fixedly mounted relative to the frame assembly 30, such as by one or more bolts 66. Of course, the airbag housing 62 may be fixedly mounted relative to the frame assembly 30 by any suitable manner.
As best shown in
The inflator 64 can be any conventional air bag inflator mechanism capable of generating gases from a source, such as for example, a solid propellant. The expelled gases are directed into the airbag 22 for proper inflation of the airbag 22 during an impact condition, such as a collision. The inflating airbag 22 helps protect the occupant of the seat 10 during an impact situation.
The seat 10 further includes a deflector 80. As best shown in
The deflector 80 is preferably made of a material which is relatively rigid such that it can support itself and maintain its formed shape during normal operation of the seat 10 yet is flexible enough such that portions of the deflector 80 may deform or flex during deployment of the airbag 22, as will be discussed below. The deflector 80 is also preferably made of a flexible material having a tensile strength sufficient to withstand the force of the inflating airbag 22 without tearing. It has been found that a suitable material for the deflector 80 is a polymeric material, such as polypropylene or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
The operation of the seat 10 and airbag module 60 will now be discussed. As shown in
Upon detection of an impact condition in which it is determined to deploy the airbag 22, a controller (not shown) energizes the inflator 64 to cause an expansion of gas within the folded airbag 22. The expansion of the airbag 22 causes the first and second portions 72 and 74 of the housing 62 to separate from one another. This separation causes an expansion of the opening 78 of the housing 62. During this initial stage of the expansion of the air bag 22, a portion of the airbag 22 is expelled through the opening 78, thereby causing further separation of the first and second portions 72 and 74 of the housing 62. As is shown in
During expansion of the airbag 22, the flexing of the end panel 84 and the flange 86 moves the corner portion 90 of the pad 50 away from the underside 68 of the trim cover 54. This movement will likely cause compression of at least the corner portion 90 of the pad 50. The expanding airbag 22 is then directed between the deflector 80 and the underside 68 of the trim cover 54 as shown in
It is noted that the inclusion of the flange 86 further helps to direct and move the corner portion 90 of the pad 50 away from the underside 68 of the trim cover 54. The flange 86 generally functions as a hook portion for grasping and moving the corner portion 90 away from the underside 68 of the trim cover 54. The flange 86 also helps minimize the inadvertent wrapping of an outermost portion 91 of the corner portion 90 around the end panel 84 during this rapid movement and compression of the corner portion 90. It is noted that the flange 86 may be sized to extend all the way to the tear seam 58 when in its original position or may only partially extend towards the tear seam 58, as shown in
Although the invention is described as being used with the seat back 12, the invention could also be practiced on other portions of the seat 10, such as for example, the seat bottom 14 wherein an air bag (not shown) would generally deploy upwardly and laterally to the occupant of the seat 10.
There is illustrated in
For simplicity, only the outboard side of the seat back 100 is shown in
The seat back 100 further includes a trim cover 154 to generally define an exterior surface thereof. The trim cover 154 may be made of any suitable material and generally surrounds the pad 150. The trim cover 154 may be attached to the pad 150 or other portions of the seat 100 by any suitable manner, such as with an adhesive, stitching, or fasteners. The trim cover 154 may be formed from a plurality of sections that are sewn or otherwise fastened together. The trim cover 154 includes an airbag tear seam 158. As shown in
The seat 100 further includes an airbag module 160 which generally includes a housing 162, an inflator 164, and an airbag 122. Similar to the airbag 22, the airbag 122 is deployable between a folded position within the airbag module 120, as shown in
The airbag housing 162 preferably has a generally rectangular box shape. The housing 162 defines an interior 170 which houses the inflator 164 and the folded airbag 122. The housing 162 includes a perimeter defined by a mounting wall 167, an end wall 168, an outboard wall 169, a deflector wall 180, and a flange 186. The mounting wall 167 is connected to the frame assembly 130 such as by the bolt 166, thereby fixedly mounting the airbag housing 162 to the frame assembly 130. The outboard wall 169 and the deflector wall 180 are preferably connected at a break away portion or seam 200. The seam 200 is preferably in the form of a reduced thickness area which will break under the forces caused by the expansion of the airbag 122, thereby separating the deflector wall 180 from the outboard wall 169, as will be described below. However, it should be understood that a seam 200 is not required such that the outboard wall 169 and the deflector wall 180 are either not connected or releasably connected together by fasteners (not shown). The walls 167, 168, 169, and 180 and the flange 186 may be integrally formed together or formed separately. The walls 167, 168, 169, and 180 may be formed from any suitable material, such as polypropylene or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
The operation of the seat 100 and airbag module 160 will now be discussed. As shown in
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiments. However, it must be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.
Claims
1. A vehicle seat comprising:
- a frame;
- a pad having a portion;
- a trim cover at least partially surrounding the frame and the portion of the pad, the trim cover including a tear seam formed therein and having an underside disposed adjacent the portion of the pad;
- an airbag module including a housing defining an opening, an inflator, and an airbag deployable from a folded position within the housing to an expanded position extending outwardly through the opening of the housing; and
- a deflector having a first portion mounted on the frame and a second portion extending outwardly from the first portion such that during deployment of the airbag, the second portion flexes relative to the first portion to move the portion of the pad away from the underside of the trim cover, and wherein the airbag is directed between the deflector and the underside of the trim material.
2. The seat of claim 1 wherein the deflector if made of a polymeric material.
3. The seat of claim 2, wherein the deflector if made of polypropylene.
4. The seat of claim 2 wherein the deflector is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.
5. The seat of claim 1 wherein the deflector is made of a sheet of material having a generally L-shaped cross-section.
6. The seat of claim 1 wherein the deflector is made of a sheet of material having a generally Z-shaped cross-section.
7. The seat of claim 1 wherein the housing is formed from first and second separate portions which surround the airbag when in the folded position.
8. The seat of claim 7 wherein the opening of the housing is defined as a joint seam between the first and second portions of the housing.
9. The seat of claim 1 wherein prior to deployment of the airbag, the second portion of the deflector is located between the opening of the housing and the tear seam of the trim cover.
10. The seat of claim 9 wherein the portion of the pad is disposed between the tear seam of the trim cover and the second portion of the deflector.
11. The seat of claim 1 wherein the second portion of deflector has a first end and a second end connected to the first portion, and wherein the deflector further includes a flange extending from the first end of the second portion to define a hook portion for grasping and moving the portion of the pad during deployment of the airbag.
12. The seat of claim 11 wherein prior to deployment of the airbag, the flange is disposed adjacent the trim cover.
13. The seat of claim 1 wherein the frame defines a seat back having an outboard bolster, and wherein the housing is located along an outer wall of the bolster such that the pad is not disposed between the housing and the outer wall of the bolster.
14. The seat of claim 1 wherein the housing and the deflector are integrally formed together such that the deflector defines a wall of the housing.
15. The seat of claim 14 wherein a tear seam is formed adjacent the deflector.
16. The seat of claim 14 wherein the second portion of deflector has a first end and a second end connected to the first portion, and wherein the deflector further includes a flange extending from the first end of the second portion to define a hook portion for grasping and moving the portion of the pad during deployment of the airbag.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 2, 2008
Publication Date: Nov 20, 2008
Patent Grant number: 8177256
Applicant:
Inventors: Rodger Smith (Ludlow), Rainer Penzel (Freising)
Application Number: 12/080,324
International Classification: B60R 21/207 (20060101);